Review: Kodaline - One Day At A Time

Kodaline are a well-known Irish band from Swords, Co. Dublin and are highly recognized for their signature styled songs that tug at the heartstrings and on their fourth studio album ‘One Day At A Time’, this style remains central throughout their whole new album. Even during the midst of a global pandemic, Steve Garrigan (vocals), Vinny May (drums), Mark Prendergast (guitar) and Jason Boland (bass) were able to produce a captivating album with heart-wrenching lyrics that is absolutely flawless from start to finish and takes us on an emotional roller-coaster that you will not regret riding. Their songs echo with stories of love, loss and longing for something or someone special. They tend to reach an anthemic climax on pretty much all of their tracks and their ability to conjure-up an incredibly catchy chorus certainly leaves the listener impressed as always. 

Kodaline are a band that have the tendency to bring their fans into a different dimension that will immediately lead them to singing and swaying along, totally escaping into a different world. They are an extremely powerful and important band. Despite the album being only 10 tracks long which makes it the bands shortest album to date, it still creates an easy listen for fans as it offers emotional ballads about belonging, love and learning how to not take life for granted. They have certainly proved that they’re still one of Ireland’s most important, hottest and hardworking bands which really know how to deliver.

‘One Day At A Time’ was recorded and produced entirely by the band themselves, bassist Jason Boland spent many sleepless nights showing off his producing skills to deliver what can now be described as the perfect album for Kodaline fans. The band had set up a studio in their kitchen in Dublin and would all gather around to put in their input into creating a stunning album which is the perfect soundtrack to a summer in lockdown. The fact that the band worked on this album by themselves, creates a feeling of vulnerability and intimacy as they have completely stripped back all the layers of added production creating a fresh and raw sound.

The album opens with a track that the band released back in January, ‘Wherever You Are’. A song that lead singer Steve Garrigan had beautifully written for his girlfriend whilst he was on tour and had not got to see her that much. It is a song about loved ones staying in your heart and mind even when they are not with you. It is the perfect opener to the album which really captivates the listener and clearly demonstrates the raw, emotional, fresh and honest sound that Kodaline went with for this album. It is a track that has gone down very well on radio and with the public, a song that is also very relatable with the times that we are currently going through missing family, friends and those that we love and cherish the most. If you are looking for a track that makes you feel what it is like to be head over heels in love with someone than look no further than this one. The meaningful lyrics, angelic harmonies, energetic instrumentals and charismatic words, gives us all the feels that we never knew we were capable of feeling. Only something that a band like Kodaline can achieve. “When the world’s getting hard, I will go to wherever you are, running blind in the dark, I will go to wherever you are” tells the listener about a powerful love story. You can almost feel the energy for that person that you love the most throughout this beautiful track.

The second track, is a beautiful song called ‘Sometimes’. This track was written about Steve Garrigan’s anxiety while being on tour in Asia. He had a really bad day dealing with his own anxiety and he kind of let it get the better of him. He started writing the song in a hotel room to help himself calm down, music, like many people, has always been his escape. ‘Sometimes’ is a song about accepting the bad days that life throws at all of us and trying to stay positive. Lyrics such as “We all get lost sometimes” help create that powerful message that it is okay not to be okay and every once in a while we all go through a bad day. This bright and fast paced track on the album gives us that little bit of reassurance that we all need on days when we feel anxious.

‘Saving Grace’ follows this track which creates a beautiful transition that goes from feeling anxious to finding that someone who helps you and saves you on your bad days. They are there for you no matter what and you know you can always rely on them, they are your saving grace. Lyrics such as “You keep me strong, when I can’t carry on” lead to the creation of a powerful, moving and emotional track. It is a gorgeous track that tells the story of wanting to be there for someone you love through thick and thin.

Some of our personal favourite tracks on the album include songs such as ‘Care’ which highlights the ups and downs of a relationship but still caring for that special someone at the end of the day, despite all the hurdles life may throw at you. “I’ll be honest, you’re a nightmare at times” and “It doesn’t even matter, I’ll be with you for the rest of our lives, because I know that you care” are some beautiful lyrics that really enhance the story of this track, which really makes it a relatable one, especially if you are currently going through some relationship struggles in lockdown but still caring for each other through it all.

‘The Evening’ is another personal favourite which is a standout track on the album and offers some beautiful string instrumentals. It offers some beautiful highs and lows and creates a rather cinematic feeling. Lyrics such as “I wish you could be here, just for the evening” reminds us of the family and friends that we’d love to have around for a summer evening while in lockdown. It could also be a track that could be labelled as a delicate and mournful soundtrack to reminisce on time spent with a loved one who has since passed away, that you deeply miss and you can’t stop imagining what it would be like to spend just one more evening with them.

This song is the perfect tune to capture all those feelings beautifully. There is also a feeling of nostalgia throughout the track and lead singer Steve Garrigan sings ‘Cause we were just kids and now I’m all grown up”, which creates a sense of longing to be reunited with a childhood friend. It is the perfect song to be placed in the middle of the album as it’s a very strong track that stands out and sticks with the listener.

‘Everyone Changes’ is probably the most emotional track on the album. If you’re looking for a song to cry to than look no further than this one as this is promised to do the job for you. We didn’t think it would be possible for Kodaline to produce a track that would make us cry more than their hit ‘All I Want’ but ‘Everything Changes’ certainly hits us on that emotional level. 

This song has a heart-breaking chorus that will absolutely rip your heart out if you’re going through a break up. “I could see that all you need is everything I’ll never be/ Say goodbye and let it be I thought you were the one for me but everyone changes” lead singer Steve Garrigan sings about the heart-breaking tragedy of giving your whole life and world to somebody, just for it all to change in a split second and fall apart. Lyrics such as “In another life maybe you and I will be walking down the aisle dressed in white” creates that painful yet powerful feeling of trying to get over a breakup. It is no surprise that this powerful, emotional ballad is one of the best songs off the quartets album.

The album closes with a powerful track called ‘In The End’, the perfect title for a closure and a stunning song that sounds like it’s already ready to be played at sold out arenas. The track radiates a sense of warmth and optimism that stays with the listener long after the album has finished as lyrics such as “We forgive, we forget and move on” echo throughout the song.

Overall, One Day At A Time is a beautiful album filled with songs that are real, honest, relatable and emotionally strong. Each song on the album blends into one another perfectly both topically and sonically which features some dreamy guitar chords from talented guitarist Mark Prendergast which really compliment Steve Garrigan’s soft and endearing voice. Kodaline have always been successful with their emotional storytelling throughout their music and we have no doubt that their brand new album will bring them even more success. The album is the perfect soundtrack to the times we are currently living in and could not have been released at a better time as the emotion in their songs seem to hit differently than ever before.

They are a band that perfectly captures and describes all those feelings and emotions that everyday life throws at us and even gives us feelings that we never thought we could feel. Kodaline have brought out a very important record that is filled with beautiful, strong and powerful messages that will get us all out of this pandemic one day at a time. We can’t take this record off repeat. It is certainly an album that is worth celebrating and if you liked their previous three records, you would love this one.

Kodaline were due to play a stellar 8 night run at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre just recently but due to COVID19, the band have been forced to reschedule to September which is looking like it will go ahead so fingers crossed!

Majority of their Dublin run is sold out but limited tickets remain for some dates, you can purchase them here. 

One Day At A Time is the bands fourth studio album which is available everywhere digitally now. The band have teased that a physical copy which will be a deluxe edition with bonus tracks, will be released at the end of the year.

Find them on Apple Music here. 

Find them on spotify here. 

The band have also been keeping us entertained in isolation with weekly livestreams featuring sessions and a Q&A. You can check out their stunning acoustic version of their brand new single ‘Say Something’ here.

We highly reccomend checking out the album and giving it a listen! 

Much Love, 

MusicBox PR Team